Door stop



April 4, 1939. K. H. BECK ET AL DOOR STOP Original Filed Nov. 5, 1935 INVENTORS H nnah H- BecK and BY Edward Hblackburn.

TTO R N EYS Patented Apr. 4, 1939 DOOR STOP Kenneth H. Beck and Edward H. Blackburn, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application November 5, 1935, Serial No. 48,310

Renewed March 8, 1938 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a door stop and catch assembly, and constitutes an improvement upon the door stop, and the door" stop and catch assembly, as disclosed in our. prior Patents No.

1,533,687, dated April 14, 1925, and No. 1,627,825,

dated May 10, 1927.

The object of the invention is to provide in cooperative association with a door stop catch elements which provide an improvedengagement with the door stop, and which are of improved structural simplicity.

In the accompanyingdrawing Fig. I is a fragmentary elevation, showing the door stop of the assembly as mounted in a floor, and. showing catch elements of the. assembly mounted on a door, the inoperative position of the catch elements being illustrated.

Fig. II is a view on a greatly enlarged scale, showing a door, and the catch elements mounted on it, in juxtaposition to the door stop; the door, and the catch elements of the door stop, being taken on the plane of the vertical section line 11-11 of Fi I.

Fig. III is a View on the scale of Fig. II, showing the elements in their operative or door-engaging position, the view being partly inelevation and partly in vertical section.

Fig, IV is a plan view of the assembly shown in Fig. III.

In. general accordance with the disclosure of our prior patents, to which reference has been above made, the door stop of the assembly comprises a shank I, threaded interiorly throughout a substantial proportion of its height, a bolt 2 adapted to be set in a floor and having its threaded portion extended into and throughout the major proportion of the height of the shank l, and an extended base 3 adapted. to rest upon the floor. The door stop also comprises a head 4, and a compressible door-contacting member 5, desirably formed as a rubber gasket in a peripheral channel 4a of the door stop, positioned at the base of the head 4 and extending therebeyond.

The catch elements of the assembly are a plate 6 adapted to be attached by screws 1, or other suitable means, to the face of adoor, and a latch element 8, formed as a yoke with a base 8a adapted to be confined in a recess 9 formed by an outward deflection of the plate 6 as theplate mounted upon the face of a door. The latch element 8 has a face 8b presented interiorly of the yoke, and shaped at the-outer region of the latch element in substantial conformity with the edge region of the door stop head 4 which it embraces.

Recess 9 in the plate 6 is of relatively great areawith respect to the cross-sectional area of the bar or base 8a of the latch element, so that the latch element is, free for movement of translation, as well as for turning movement, in the plate. In the plate 6, recess 9 has therein a surface ii! which, in mounted position of the plate, extends upwardly and outwardly from the plane of the basal portion of the plate, and therefore extends upwardly and outwardly from the plane of the door face. An upper surface ll of the recess 9 extends perpendicular to, or at a slight angle to, the plane of the plate base, to form an angle with the surface ll! of the recess.

Desirably, as shown, the lower, basal region Ba of the plate 6 is of a size and shape to match the opening within the latch element. In inoperative position, latch element 8 may, therefore, lie with its crossbar or base 8a at the lower end of the chamber defined by the face of the door and the recess 9 of the plate 6, and with its yoke portion embracing the lower region 6a of the plate, thus lying substantially parallel to the face of the door. This is the position the latch element 8 automatically assumes when it is free of engagement with an external object, such as a door stop.

To bring the catch assembly into its operative position, to embrace the door stop, the base of the latch element 8 is moved upwardly on the inclined surface ill in plate recess 9, into a wedged position in the angle formed by the surfaces in and ii of the recess. To facilitate engagement of the latch element, for moving it from its inoperative position to its operative position, there is provided at the outer end of the latch element a foot 52 arranged to project outwardly from the plane of the latch element. This foot 52 may readily be engaged by the fingers of an operator, or by the welt on a shoe of an operator, for bringing the latch element into its operative position.

Desirably, the catch assembly and the door stop are so proportioned that the rubber gasket 5* of the door stop contacts the plate 6 immediately below the recess 9 thereof, in such mounted position of the plate on a door that the foot l2 of the latch element carried by it lies approximately at the lower extremity of the door. With this relation of the elements, the cross bar 8a of the latch element, in its uppermost and operative position in the angle formed by intersection of the surfaces I fl and H, lies above the gasket 5 and the head 4 of the door stop. As it is swung, or is permitted to fall, downwardly,

the yoke 8 embraces the head 4 of the door stop, with its interior face 81) lying in contact with the periphery of the head 4, and with its outer end lying upon the upper face of the gasket 5. In this position, foot [2 projects somewhat beyond the periphery of the gasket 5, in order that this terminal of the latch element 8 may be readily contacted to lift it from engagement with the head of the door stop.

As the parts are proportioned, the gasket 5 is compressed against the face of the door, or rather against the plate 5 mounted on the door, being held thereto by the latch element 8. With its inner end raised, as shown in Fig. III, the effective length of the latch member is decreased, and

. in this position it tends to compress the gasket downwardly, as well as holding it in compression against the door. This resilient engagement in both directions serves firmly to wedge the crossbar to of the latch element in the angle of the recess 9, providing a positive interlocking engagement for holding the door to the door stop.

Latching engagement is increased by the form of the interior face 8b of the latch element, and

the form of the peripheral face 4a of the door stop. Face 4a of the door stop head 4 is formed with a slight downward taper, and the interior face 8b of the latch element is formed with an upward taper. In seated position, embracing the head of the door stop, and bearing against the upper face of the gasket, the latch element has, therefore, an edge engagement at the junction line between the peripheral face 4a of the door stop and the upper face of the gasket. This causes the latch element, in eifect, to pinch into its seated position in such manner that a positively applied force is required to dislodge it therefrom. In the cross-bar of the latch element, the upward inclination of the interior latch element face provides an edge contact between the cross-bar 8a of the latch element and the inclined face fill formed in the recess of plate 6. This edge contact contributes to the wedging effect which holds the latch element in operative position.

t will be observed that the contour of the interior latch face 80 also causes the cross-bar 8a of the latch element to have a snug wedging fit between the face of the door and the inclined face ill of the plate, when the latch element is in the inoperative position shown in Fig. II of the drawing.

The entire door stop and catch assembly is of simple structure. It is desirable that the door step be, as shown, of relatively massive appearance. Being supported throughout a great proportion of its height by a threaded region of bolt 2, it may, however, be made of some relatively light and ductile metal, such as aluminum. The plate 6 and the latch element 8 may both be made as stampings from material having the same gauge. In this connection, it will be noted that the recess 9 of the plate 6 is of such contour that it may be formed in the operation by which the plate is stamped out. These manufacturing advantages greatly lessen the expense incident to the manufacture of the assembly.

An advantageous relationship existing in the assembly results from the outward and upward positioning of the latch element base in operative condition of the latch element. The effective shortening of the latch element thus obtained permits the latch element definitely to clear the floor level when in its dependent inoperative position, this being insured without using a door stop of extended height in accommodation to an enforcedly elevated mounting on the door.

We claim as our invention:

1. A door catch assembly comprising a mounting plate adapted to be secured to the face of a door and regionally deflected outwardly intermediate its height to provide a transverse recess open to the face of the door, said regional outward deflection of the mounting plate providing as it is mounted on a door a lower seat adjacent the face of the door and an upper seat spaced outwardly from the face of the door, and a latch element loosely confined in the said recess for both rotating movement therein and for bodily movement between an inoperative position in the said lower seat and an operative position in the said upper seat in the recess defined by outward regional deflection of the mounting plate, said latch element being in the form of a yoke dimensioned to embrace a space greater than that occupied by the region of the mounting plate which in mounted position of the mounting plate lies below the said transverse recess formed therein, so that the latch element when in its inoperative position in the lower seat of the recess may lie under the influence of gravity in approximate parallelism with the face of the door.

2. .A door latch assembly in accordance with the definition of claim 1 in which a portion of the latch element lying within the recess of the mounting plate has a cross-sectional dimension greater than the least width of the upper seat in the recess on the mounting plate and in which the said upper seat is tapered, so that in its operative position in the said upper seat forces exerted on said latch element in a direction away from the door on which the assembly is mounted serve to cause wedging engagement of the said latch element in the said upper seat.

3. A door catch assembly comprising a mounting plate adapted to be secured to the face of a door to lie substantially parallel thereto, an element springing outwardly from the plane of the said keeper plate and providing a transverse recess intermediate the height of the mounting plate, said recess providing in mounted assembly a lower seat adjacent the face of the door, both said seats having surfaces angularly convergent in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the mounting plate, and an upper seat spaced outwardly a substantial distance from the face of the door, and a latch element loosely confined in the said recess for both rotating movement therein and for bodily movement between an inoperative position in the said lower seat in the recess and an operating position in the said upper seat in the recess, the portion of the latch element which lies within the said recess being angular in cross section and having cross-sectional contour matching the angularity of the lower seat so that it may directly depend therefrom under the influence of gravity, and that portion of the latch element having cross-sectional dimensions which in its operative position extended downwardly and outwardly from the upper seat prevent it from matching with the apex of the upper seat, whereby in its operative position the latch element has a wedging engagement in the said upper seat.

' KENNETH H. BECK.

EDWARD H. BLACKBURN. 

